Under The
Surface
An Experiential Framework for Accessible Design Archives
Visual Communication Design MFA
RIT Thesis · April 2026
§ 01 · Thesis Abstract
About
The Work
Under the Surface is an interactive system that rethinks how audiences access and engage with art and design archives. Institutions like the Vignelli Center for Design Studies preserve hundreds of thousands of objects, but much of this material remains in storage or appears online as static image galleries. While these archives protect important history, they can make it difficult for the public to experience the creative process behind well-known works.
"This project connects preservation with discovery by transforming archival materials into real-time digital experiences that can exist as a website, gallery kiosk, or immersive installation."
By reconnecting contributions from designers like Raleigh D'Adamo and Joan Charysyn to the final map, the project highlights the many people and decisions often left out of traditional histories. More broadly, it explores how archives, museums, and educational spaces can become more engaging and accessible, showing that the future of design archives depends not only on what they preserve, but on how people experience them.
§ 02 · Demo Reel
Demo Reel
Fig. 01 — Under the Surface, Site-specific Projection Installation, 2026. Custom particle software, archival transit data.
§ 03 · Artifacts
Artifacts
Fifteen artifacts drawn from historical archives, contemporary transit design, and the installation itself — tracing the Vignelli influence from 1968 to the present day.
§ 04 · System Archive
Archive
See images and screenshots from the system software: particle cosmos states, spectral analysis frames, transition moments, and the overlay interface in context. Click any image to view full screen.
§ 05 · Imagine RIT · April 2026
Imagine
RIT
Under the Surface was exhibited at Imagine RIT 2026, RIT's annual festival of creativity and innovation. Over 100 visitors engaged with the installation across a single day — navigating the spectral slider, exploring the archive, and experiencing the particle cosmos projection firsthand.
The feedback revealed two distinct points of connection: visitors drawn in by the visual experience of the particle field and spectrum, and those who engaged through the narrative thread — discovering the untold story of the 1972 map and the designers behind it. Many visitors who came for the visuals stayed for the story. The installation proved that design archives don't have to be static — they can be felt.